Needed Once Again
by Peeps
Summary: This is my first Zelda story, but she's not in it. It's Link this and Link that. Please review. I don't care if you flame me, I just want to know what's good and bad! I do NOT own Link or Epona! I do own everyone else though.
1. A New Face for Adventure

As the sixteen-year-old boy walked down the dirt path with his steed, he thought about the last time he had seen Hyrule; his homeland. Everything had been so peaceful when he had left. Hopefully everything would be the same when he returned.  
  
The blonde male mounted his horse and rode off. He speed through the quiet forest; the only sound being the hoofs hitting the dirt, causing a cloud of dust to rise. After he while he stopped to let his horse rest. They just so happened to stop near a stream, which the sixteen year old led his horse to. While the horse drank some of the sparkling water, the boy saw a moving shadow in a clump of trees. Curious, he started toawrd it, drawing his sword. The shadow stopped moving. The boy still inched toward it. Suddenly out from the clump of trees a black horse bolted out...on it, the shadow. The blonde fell backward into a cloud of dirt. "Nani...?" he questioned out loud to himself. The shadow and horse disappeared in the forest.  
  
The young male stood and brushed the dirt off himself. His horse trotted over to him. He mounted again and began to ride in the same dirstion as before, but he stopped. Curious, he decided to follow who ever it had been on the black horse. His horse reluctantly began to follow the trail of hoofprints from the other horse.  
  
The two soon arrived at a cave. The sixteen year old dimounted and led his horse into the darkness. Using a nifty little spell that he had learned on his travels, he lit a torch. Farther and farther they walked. Soon, the tunnel opened up into a cavern. It about eleven feet from ground to ceiling and about fifteen feet in width. All around there were smaller tunnels that the one they had just come through, but only one had footprints and hoofprints.  
  
The blonde male let the reins go and walked over to the prints. He bent down to examine them. The footprints were too small to be a male's. "Well, the shadow was a female... and she couldn't of gotten too far." he stated outloud to himself. He began to walk foward, leaving his horse behind. The steed, realizing that her master was gone began to follow his trail. In no time, she had caught up to him, but he took no notice.  
  
As the boy took one step after another, he felt eyes watching him. In the distance he heard anbother horse neighing. He began to pick up the pace, growing nervous. *What have I gotten myself into now?* he thought, still feeling eyes pierce into him. His fast pace walking turned to running. He saw light at the end of the tunnel, and ran faster. He heard the hoofs of his horse behind him.  
  
As he burst into the light, he almost slipped off the steep ciff that lay before. He blinked a couple times, getting used to the bright light. He dropped the torch at the sight of the landscape.  
  
A field of pale green grass, swaying in the light breeze. Beyond that rolling hills and small villages. Farther there were mountains that cut into a pale blue sky. This land was more beautiful than Hyrule... except for one thing. The smoke comming from one of the villages.  
  
The male looked to his right. There was path that led to the fields. He grabbed the reins of his horse and began to lead her down. A mving figure on the fields caught his eye. The black horse and shadow were running across the grass toward the burning village. Quickly he the sixteen year old lead the horse down and followed the trail of the shadow.  
  
As he drew nearer to the village, he could smell the flames. By the time he got there, nothing was left. Just the burning bases and structures of what were once houses, corpses of many people, and ruins, which could be identified. He heard the soft sound hoofs walking the streets, and almost silent footsteps. His horse began to walk foward. They turned a corner and saw the black horse. With it was the female shadow. She lifted a piece of wood with some trouble and glanced under it. She then placed it back down. The female then mounted her horse and walked up to the male and his horse.  
  
"Why did you follow me?" she questioned. Her eyes were a deep violet. Her hair was long and midnight black. "Answer me or I'll slit your throat." she threatened. "What happened here?" the boy finally spoke. "First answer my question." she replied. "I followed you because I thought you were spying on me." answered the boy. The girl glared at him. He felt her eyes pierce into him. "This village was attacked. Everyone's dead." the female stated. With that said, she began to walk away.  
  
"Hey! Where are you going?" the sixteen year old called. "To stop who ever did this." she answered. "Wait! I'll go with you." the boy rode up to her. She sighed, but said nothing.  
  
After a long while of silence, the boy spoke up. "What's your name?" he asked. "Acida. You?" she questioned. "Link." he answered. "Well, Hero of Time, let's hope you can save this land." Acida said, casually. "How did you that I'm the Hero of Time?" Link questioned, surprized. "I have my ways." was the only answer he recieved.  
  
They arrived at another village, except this one wasn't attacked. Acida led the way to a stable. Link followed. They dismounted their horses and gave the reins to the owner. Then Acida paid him fifty ruppees: nine blue ones and five green ones. As the two walked down the street, people waved to Acida and children ran up ti her and gave her hugs. After they had finally made it to the end of the street, they entered a house. Inside was a short, thin woman and three children of the ages eight, six, and five.  
  
"Oh, Acida! We're so gald you're back!" exclaimed the woman. The three children each said hi to Link and gave Acida a smile and wave. They then went upstairs. "Who is this young man?" the woman asked, studying Link. "This is Link." Acida answered, taking a seat. The woman pulled a chair up for Link. He sat down quietly.  
  
"You know I'm not here to stay, right?" Acida asked. "Dear... you're never here to stay!" laughed the woman. She brought two cups to the wooden table. She then poured some tea for her two guests. "What brings you here anyway?" the woman questioned. "Well... we need to know who burned down Gnur. Which king ordered it this time?" Acida asked, getting right to the point. The woman said nothing for a long time. "Are you a survior of the attack, young man?" she asked. "No." was all Link said. "He's the Hero of Time." Acida stated. "Then you can help us!" the woman exclaimed. "Maybe he will... maybe he won't." Acida answered. Her voice quivered when said 'won't'.  
  
A scream outside made Link jump. Acida stood up. "Make sure that Ame, Rai, and Li stay inside!" she commanded before running outside. Link followed.  
  
Outside was a horific scene. "If anyone else dares to defy King Yansi, this is what will happen to you... or maybe worse!" shouted a soldier. There were a dozen of them, all on horses. The crowd people began to back away. Acida pushed through them with Link behind her. "Is King Yansi the one who ordered that Gnur was to be burned down?" questioned the female. The soldier eyed her. "Well, Acida... you and I both know that King Yansi would never do that." he relied smugly. "Maybe three years ago he wouldn't have, but now... he would." she said firmly. I'd watch it, Acida. Who knows what King Yansi, or any of the other kings, would do to you." the soldier grinned. "Listen. If you or any of the kings try to attack this village, they shall the honor of being be-headed by me." Acida stated. "That's such big talk for such a little girl." the soldier laughed. His laugh was nervous. "Alright men! Let's go!" he gave the order and rode off.  
  
The towns people began to go back to their usual chores. Acida and Link looked a nearby tree. From it's branches hung oone of the towns people. "What's going on?" Link questioned, tearing his eyes from the body. "Something bad is coming... but I don't know what." Acida answered the best she could.  
  
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Wow...that's weird. Oh well. How is it? Bad, good? Please review! 


	2. Cofusion and Questions of the Past

Sorry to those who have been waiting for the next chapter!!! I didn't realize that you were waiting!!!!!!!! GOMEN!!!!!!!!  
  
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That night Link lay awake in the house of the woman and her three children. Everything was happening so fast. He was on his way back to Hyrule one minute, then chasing Acida, then ended up in this weird place. It was bad enough he still hadn't found his friend.  
  
*That's why I left Hyrule in the first place... right? If not, then why did I leave?* Link thought to himself. He heard voices downstairs. He got up and wandered to the top of the staircase. He peeked down and saw the woman sitting at the table drinking tea. Acida was also there, but she was pacing back and forth. She had been uptight since that afternoon. The whole thing with the soldiers had put a veil of tension over the entire town. Limk had asked Acida why she was so dead-set on protecting this town, but the only answer she would give was a distanced look. Then she would shake it off and continue walking like nothing had been said.  
  
Acida had been on the young hero's mind since she asked him that question. After they had returned to the house that he was currently in, Acida had immediately turned to him and asked: "Will you help protect this country? Or will you let its Fate slip through fingers?" He had stood silent for a moment, thinking. *What an odd way to put it...* The second part echoed in his mind over and over. He was about to come up with an answer when two of the three kids had ran the stairs to greet Acida. One of them was Li, the five-year-old, and the other was Ame, the oldest.  
  
After all that, Link never got another chance to speak with Acida privately about what she meant about that second half of the question. She had left with someone, that had come by requesting her assitance about something that had do with the guards from eariler.  
  
Link now listened and looked down at the two women, who had been silent for a while. The mother got up slowly and took her tea cup over to the sink and began to wash that and the other dishes that sat there.  
  
"Go to bed..." Acida stated tiredly. "But what about-" "Go... I'll take care of everything down here." Obediently, the older woman began to accend the stairs. Link quietly crept back to his room and left the door slightly ajar. As soon as the heavy footsteps had passed his door and been closed off by a squeaky door, he tiptoed down the hallway and watched Acida.  
  
Before long, Link heard Acida talking. "How long do you plan on sitting up there, Link?" the tired voice sounded. He sat there staring at the back of her head dumbfounded. Then she turned and gave him a weak smile. Link then walked down the stairs and stood at the bottom. Finally, Acida finished washing the dishes and put everything away. Next she sat at the table and gestured for Link to do the same. He did.  
  
For a long time, neither said anything, but continously adjusted their position in the chairs. Finally Acida spoke.  
  
"You have question to ask me... do you not? Actually have many, but two that you're very curious about." "How did you...?" "I'll answer that when the time is right, but for now ask me the two questions that you're confused about." "Well, what did you mean by 'Or will you let its Fate slip through you're fingers?'?" "I know that you've been told many times, but this time you can decide whether or not to save it. The Fate of this country rest in your hands. I'm not going say that you must help me save this place because that would be wrong. You choose for yourself this time."  
  
Link sat there thinking. Every other time he had saved the world, it was always a "must do" thing. At least several people told him that over and over. Now he could choose. Save this beautiful country, or let it be sucked into despair. He could choose this time... no "you have to this".  
  
"Did you have another mind-bothering question?" the female interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, yeah! Why are you so dead-set on saving this town?" Link asked, expecting the same response as he had always recieved from her. Instead there were words.  
  
"This village isn't my hometown. The place where I was born and raised until my fourth year of age, Yuzli, was destroyed by one of the kings. Everyone died except for myself." "What do you mean kings? And where were the only suvivor?" "I was the only one who lived because I was out for a ride on Ira, my horse. ...What about the kings?" "You say 'kings' right? Why plural? I thought that there could only be one king."  
  
"A long time ago, there were four lords and an emperor. The four lords ruled the four directions; Kage the North, Shiro the West, Ai-ji the East, and Sanosuke the South. Where the four directions met, the emperor ruled. The emperor had a stone that had been the royal family for generations. This stone gave the ruler of the country power. It could only be controled by the emperor as long as it stayed as one stone. If it broke, then it's power would be divided and anyone who got their hands on it could use it.  
  
"One day, for reasons unkown, the four lords met secretly. They were sick of the emperor and how the people of their land always praised him for his kindness toward others, and how he gave money to those who needed. They were sick of hearing how he would have no homeless people amoung the country. So they came up with a plan to rid the country of the emperor forever.  
  
"As soon as a year went by, the four lords began to carry out their plan. So one night, they rode to the palace of the emperor, Yousei. They broke in and crept towards the throne room where the stone stood in a case of diamond. Unfortunately, there had a celebration that night for it had been the empress' birthday, so no guards were on duty. With no one to stop them, the four lords stole the stone and crept away before dawn broke into the windows of the palace.  
  
"Once they had the stone, they had to break it into four pieces. They tried smashing it, pulling it, and cutting it, but nothing would break it. Finally one of the four lords muttered a swear in Elvish at Emperor Yousei. The emperor's name was a "password", so to speak, that could break the stone, but only when said in Elvish. So they got lucky.  
  
"With a piece of stone for each lord, a piece of power, they began to destroy the empire that had taken so long to build. With their newfound power, the four lords wished for immortality, then for the emperor's death, and then to become kings. Since then, they have ruled and tortured the people of this country."  
  
"Why don't they move to a new place. They could live in Hyrule, where I come from!" Link broke in. Acida shook her head. "But...why?" the Hero of Time questioned, "Is there something wrong with Hyrule?" "Nothing is wrong with 'Hyrule'... it's just that they can't leave." Acida responded. "Can't?" Link asked. "They're weak with no magic. Only those who have magic can pass through the dimension of the worlds and only they can find the entrance to the middle." answered the female. "We could lead them to it! We could teach them magic! We could-" "If you do wished to waste your time saving this world, then leave now. I'll show you the way to the exit. If you wish to stay and help me, then go to bed. If you do not know still, then leave while you still can. Who knows how much longer the entrance will stay open..." Acida stated.  
  
Link stood and walked toward the staircase. Acida didn't move from the table. Link, seeing that she wasn't going to follow him, started up the stairs, then stopped. The female looked up at him curiously. "The rest of my questions... because I'm staying to help you, will you answer them?" he questioned. Acida laughed, and nodded. Then she stood and opened one of the three doors on the bottom floor.  
  
With out another word, both walked to their rooms and fell into a deep sleep... 


End file.
